NSW weekly racing report: The good, bad and the ugly

We take a look at the big talking points from around the state and what lies ahead for the coming week.The week that was

Alizee stamps herself as a starGodolphin mare Alizee showed she has gone to the next level this preparation with an arrogant victory in the Group Two Expressway Stakes. She is already a two-time Group One winner - having taken out the Flight Stakes and Queen of the Turf during her three-year-old season - but the manner in which she put away quality horses in the Expressway suggests she is now a genuine star. Bookies weren't keen on taking her on when markets opened for the race, installing her as the $1.80 favourite following her first-up win in the Christmas Stakes, but it was Trapeze Artists who the punters came for, with the Gerald Ryan-trained galloper starting the $2.30 favourite ahead of Alizee at $3. Trapeze Artist only battled in the soft going, finishing back in fourth. Alizee now sits atop betting for next month's inaugural All-Star Mile in Melbourne at $4.50 with second favourite The Autumn Sun listed as a doubtful starter at $8.

RACE REPLAY – EXPRESSWAY STAKES. The talented mare Alizee was unbelievably good coming from last to score! She did it pretty comfortably in the end. pic.twitter.com/wTe5wkhvxq

Clipperton back and boots home a winnerSam Clipperton was back in the winner's circle on Tuesday for the first time since making his move back to Sydney, getting Swiss home at Kembla Grange for Edward Rourke and Michael Freedman. Clipperton has returned to Australia after plying his trade in Hong Kong over the past few seasons. His first meeting back was at Canterbury last Friday night before having a rough book of rides on Saturday at Rosehill, with three runners at triple-figure odds. Given Clipperton's ability, it won't be long before he gets opportunities back on the good horses.

Dolan shines under lightsSpeaking of getting opportunities, Irish apprentice Robbie Dolan is getting plenty of opportunities in the city and for good reason. The 23-year-old has had a fruitful past couple of months and on Friday he collected a four-bagger at Canterbury. He wasn't just on short-priced favourites either, with three of the four winners starting at each-way odds. He followed Friday's success with victory aboard All Too Royal at Rosehill on Saturday. Dolan was ruled out of Wednesday's meeting at Kensington after getting kicked in the leg by a horse, but he escaped any serious injury and is expected to be back in action on Friday.

Sky Boy out of the autumnVilliers winner Sky Boy will not be contesting the Doncaster Mile after suffering a soft tissue injury. The Anthony Cummings-trained four-year-old won five straight races last campaign, culminating with victory in the Group Two Villiers. Think Big Stud said the injury could see the son of Pendragon sidelined for all of 2019.

Sky Boy seen here winning the Villiers in December will unfortunately not be able to take up his ballot exempt entry into the Doncaster and may not be seen for the rest of 2019 after suffering a soft tissue training injury this week ⁦@tabcomau⁩ pic.twitter.com/ZhvKEdCNBY

He has always shown promise and perhaps the ✂ during his break will see him deliver on his promise on a consistent basis. Returning over 1500m, the Ocean Park four-year-old race away from his rivals over the final 100m to score by 2L.

The Bad 💩

Girl Tuesday (Rosehill, February 2)

As good as Seaway was, his stablemate Girl Tuesday was equally disappointing. The previously unbeaten mare was confidently backed in her return to the track, but was never a factor, coming in 6.2L adrift of Seaway in eighth place. Given it was her first defeat in five starts and she was found to be slow to recover, she is worth giving another chance.

The Ugly 🙈

Asterius (Rosehill, February 2)

James McDonald rode a treble on the card, but Asterius was a very ugly watch. The $4 favourite got shuffled back on the turn for home before finding backsides early in the straight. Asterius was out of play by the 250m, eventually finishing a distant 10th behind Cyber Intervention.

That’s about as bad as you can ride them from James McDonald. In a beautiful spot in the run and shows no initiative and it’s game over #asterius

The week aheadRich racing at the 'FarmIt may not come with the same hype as the Magic Millions, but this year's Inglis two and three-year-old races at Warwick Farm carry the same purse as their sales counterparts. The betting for the $2 million race for the two-year-olds is dominated by a pair of runners - Dawn Passage and Accession - with all other runners quoted at $15 or above. Accession (Chris Waller) won his most recent start by 4.3L at Rosehill on Jan 19 while Dawn Passage (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott) made an immediate impact on debut, storming to a 3.3L victory on Jan 26. Dawn Passage ($3) heads the betting from Accession ($3.20) after coming up with a more favourable draw on Tuesday.

It's a similar story in betting for the three-year-old race with two runners battling it out for favouritism. Fiesta resumes for Waller, having won the Group Two Silver Shadow during the spring before three consecutive runner-up efforts. Golden Slipper winner Estijaab will also make her long-awaited return to the track. The Snitzel filly hasn't raced since her Slipper success last autumn. Things didn't go to plan in a barrier trial last week at Rosehill however, dumping her jockey Brenton Avdulla at the gates. Avdulla will be back aboard the Team Hawkes-trained runner come Saturday.

Estijaab is back on track this week. Image: Getty

Winx fever risesWinx will begin her farewell campaign in next Saturday's Apollo Stakes and fans will get the chance to watch her in action this weekend in an exhibition gallop at Randwick on Saturday morning. The ATC and Chris Waller racing are hosting a breakfast event at the track with the star mare to strut her stuff at 8:00am.

Country Championships kick-off at DubboOne of the great initiatives of The Championships are the Country and Provincial Qualifierswith the first of the country heats held at Dubbo this Sunday. A Martin Placepick for Cecil Hodgson heads the list of 18 nominations while Rodney Robb has the most entries with four runners.